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STUDENT FELLOWS

Building student capacity and power among emerging student leaders within higher education in California.

OUR PROGRAM

The fellowship provides students with an important opportunity to share their experiences and advocate for the changes they need to succeed in higher education and beyond.

Through a 10-month program, student fellows will develop the basics of student advocacy and deploy a student-led campaign/project in one of our key focus areas: Textbook Affordability, Student Basic Needs, Smart Justice, Intellectual Property, and Digital Equity. Student fellows are matched with one of our program leads and are given the tools they need to create a project that addresses a student-identified issue in their focus area. 

During the fellowship, the students will expand their knowledge and understanding of their issue area by receiving mentorship from their program expert, while simultaneously developing their advocacy skills by receiving monthly training on various advocacy strategies. Student fellows also have the opportunity to meet with issue-area leaders and advocates at our sponsored conferences or events.

 

Student Power in Action

To date, our fellows have:
01

Engaged and partnered with key players and decision making bodies, including the Department of Education, the LA City Mayor’s office, and the California Community College ASCCC OERI.

02

Authored op-eds for a range of local and national publications, including The Hill.

03

Participated in coalitions such as the nation-wide SPARC Student Committee and the California Digital Equity Coalition.

04

Facilitated a campus-wide campaign at UCLA focused on lowering the cost of its automatic textbook billing program, and ultimately securing support of the University of California Student Association.

05

Become issue area student experts and been invited to speak at statewide and national conferences including Open Ed, Cal OER, and the Community College League of California.

Meet the 2024 Cohort

Cristopher Espino

Student Fellow, Student Basic Needs

Francesca Romero

Student Fellow, Digital Equity

Abba Schwartz

Student Fellow, Open Educational Resources (OER)

Katie Wagman

Student Fellow, Textbook Affordability

Elleyse Garrett

Legal Fellow, Intellectual Property

Recent Fellows News

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Digital Equity

A Call for Digital Equity in Los Angeles: Experiences of a Student Fellow

 
Smart Justice

Welcoming the 2024 Smart Justice Spark Grant Community Advisors

 
Digital Equity

Welcoming the 2024 Michelson 20MM Student Fellows

 
Open Educational Resources

How an OER Student Fellow Advanced Textbook Affordability at UCLA

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Cristopher Espino

Student Fellow, Student Basic Needs

Cristopher Espino (he/him) is a Student Fellow for Michelson 20MM’s Student Basic Needs Initiative, where he helps lessen student housing and food insecurity while advancing support for pregnant and parenting students. As a second-year student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), he is pursuing a double major in political science & education and social transformation studies. Cristopher is also the Chief of Senate at UCLA, where he oversees approximately 20 senators. Having gone through the foster care system, identifying as gay, being a first-generation college student, Latino, and the child of immigrants, Cristopher recalls times when his basic needs were not met. He is passionate about education policy, politics, and the intersection of law with education.

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Francesca Romero

Student Fellow, Digital Equity

Francesca Romero (she/her) is a Student Fellow for Michelson 20MM’s Digital Equity Initiative, where she helps close the digital divide in Los Angeles and beyond. She is a junior at Occidental College studying diplomacy and world affairs with minors in politics and Latino/a and Latin American Studies (LLAS). Before her fellowship, Francesca interned with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), where she researched how to bring affordable or free wi-fi to Pico Union, an initiative that is important to her because Francesca and her family had firsthand experience with the Affordable Connectivity Program. An aspiring lawyer, she is passionate about human rights, housing, and digital equity.

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Abba Schwartz

Student Fellow, Open Educational Resources (OER)

Abba Schwartz (she/her) is a Student Fellow for Michelson 20MM’s OER Initiative, where she advances the proliferation of openly licensed educational materials and zero-textbook cost degree programs. She is a second-year student at her local community college, Sierra College, pursuing a bachelor’s in political science and will obtain an Associate of Arts in women’s studies and social and behavioral sciences. As a Cal Grant, Pell Grant, and a Ward of the State recipient, Abba has been forced to use her financial aid on textbooks due to the true cost of college. Having learned about OER, Abba advocates for students who may be in similar situations. She is passionate about learning, researching, and reading about history and social issues–passions she hopes to apply to a career as a policy analyst and professor.

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Katie Wagman

Textbook Affordability Fellow

Katie Wagman (she/her) is a Student Fellow for Michelson 20MM’s Textbook Affordability initiative, where she works to ensure students have equitable access to the course materials they need. She is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), studying public affairs. Katie is increasing textbook affordability through the UC system while also implementing course marking and price transparency at UCLA. Nationally, Katie aspires to stop automatic textbook billing.  Upon graduation, she plans to obtain her Master’s in Public Policy to expand her work into health and housing policies.

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Elleyse Garrett

Legal Fellow, Intellectual Property

Elleyse Garrett (she/her) is a rising 2L at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. She graduated from UCLA in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in public health from USC in 2021. Elleyse decided to attend law school as a career transition because she wanted to advocate for underrepresented communities. As the Michelson Intellectual Property Institute’s Legal Fellow, Ellyse is excited to deepen her knowledge of intellectual property and how HBCUs can empower students, faculty, and staff, to have ownership over their work and ideas.